Peanut Butter, who was just adopted, wears his snazzy bowtie while being pet by a customer. (Photo by Julianne Mosher)

Long Island’s first cat cafe is the cat’s meow

By: Julianne Mosher October 8, 2018Comments Off on Long Island’s first cat cafe is the cat’s meow

Stitch jumped right into customer Kelly’s arms to cuddle. (Photos by Julianne Mosher)

After a summer of planning and Kickstarter funding, Ryan Shea finally opened up Long Island’s first cat cafe – The Shabby Tabby – in Sayville. Located at 249 W Main Street, the shop is the first of its kind on the Island and caters to a wide range of services.

“It’s a place where people who want to spend time with cats can sit and play with them,” Shea, who hails from Yaphank, said. “But it’s also a place where people who would like to adopt a rescue can get a good feel for them.”

The Shabby Tabby is an open space where rescued cats can roam, jump, sit and sleep while visitors can pet, sip some tea or coffee and hang out.

Shea decided to partner with the Golden Paw Society in Huntington Station – a “un-shelter,” housing about 50 cats who have been rescued from other Long Island shelters, animals in line to be euthanized. She had volunteered with the organization for years. The partnership between these two locations will help alleviate the overcrowding of local shelters and specifically help older cats finally find their forever homes.

Shea said that after seeing the cat cafe trend pop up in other cities, and after an extensive search for a location, she settled on the quaint South Shore town.

“The community has been so nice,” she said. “People have been stopping by and are excited for the events we have planned.”

Some events on the calendar are paint night (wine glass painting) with kitties, pumpkin painting for adults and children (while the cats help, of course) and the popular cat yoga, with spots being reserved online.

The shop will be open 7 days a week from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. Shea encourages people who are interested to reserve a spot online because the space only allows a certain number of people for a comfortable visit with the cats. Each hourly session includes a coffee or tea per person and children are welcomed at a reduced rates.

The shop will house 15 to 20 cats and kittens ranging in ages but all available for adoption on site. Since opening on Sept. 29, four cats have been given their new forever homes and will finally have couches all to themselves.

An hour reservation is $15 for adults and $10 for children. The fees go to maintaining the cafe and the care of the cats. Special events like cat yoga, cost $25 for adults, with discounted prices for kids.